


story of seasons

by dominopes



Category: Naruto
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-12-25 16:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18265205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dominopes/pseuds/dominopes
Summary: Seasons change. Feelings don't.





	1. spring

 

_"do you want to be with_

_somebody like me?"_

**\- marina and the diamonds // lonely hearts club**

 

///

 

spring;

 

        When they start, there’s a nagging fear that bounces around the walls of Gaara’s brain, sometimes fading into the background only to come back with a vengeance. Memories of his uncle’s smiling face, words that sounded so pretty but in the end meant nothing. The knowledge of how quickly things can change haunts him – One moment, Yashamaru loved him, the next he wanted to kill him. One moment, his mother was just a woman, warm and kind with eyes that could supposedly see right through you, the next she was a horror story, a woman wronged by her village, seeking revenge through her youngest child.

 

    Lee beams at him from across the room, his eyes soft the way they always are when they land on Gaara, and his heart skips a beat before sinking. Deep down, he knows it won’t always be like this. One day, Lee will come to his senses – will decide he doesn’t want to be with the person who’d hurt him so badly in the past after all. One day, he’ll look at someone else that way, someone more deserving.

 

    Just the thought of it is more painful to Gaara than the injuries he’d sustained at the chuunin exams all those years ago.

 

    He doesn’t voice these feelings to Lee, not at first.

 

    Gaara suffers in silence, hopes these thoughts will subside on their own so he can enjoy Lee while he has him, but they only get louder and louder with each passing day.

 

    Finally, when they’re sitting on the roof of the Kazekage residence one night, stargazing, Lee asks him, “What’s on your mind?”

 

    It crosses Gaara’s mind that he could lie, that he doesn’t have to tell Lee everything that’s been bothering him since they confessed their feelings for one another, but that thought is gone the second it comes – This is Lee. He doesn’t want to lie to Lee, who’s only ever been honest with him.

 

    “I’m worried that you’ll change your mind.”

 

    A pause.

 

    “About what?” Lee asks with a confused puppy tilt of his head.

 

    Gaara hugs his knees to his chest, staring out at his village. Lights stream out of civilian houses, a few shinobi still wandering the street despite the late hour.

 

    “Me,” he finally says, swallowing.

 

    Lee’s quiet for an unnerving amount of time before he reaches out to take Gaara’s hand in his, intertwining their fingers. “I won’t.”

 

    He says it with such conviction it makes Gaara’s head spin, “You have no way of knowing that.”

 

    “No. But I do have a way of proving people wrong,” Lee shoots back, nudging Gaara’s shoulder with his playfully.

 

   The gesture makes Gaara’s lips tug up at the corners just the tiniest bit, his stomach in knots but the good kind, the kind only Lee can cause.

 

    “That you do,” he agrees, giving Lee’s hand a squeeze, and Lee grins at him so brilliantly, Gaara forgets he was ever worried in the first place. It's only a temporary solution, he knows they'll have to talk about this again later, but for now he allows himself to bask in the serenity that comes with being with Lee. 

 

    If what they have is temporary, he at least wants to enjoy him while he has him. 

 


	2. summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dedicated to gaalee biker gang ;*
> 
> sorry for pretending to ship rocksuke dnkgjh

  summer;

   

            The sweltering heat is nothing new to Gaara, but swimming is.

 

      Dating Lee has been.....quite the experience. Most of it is good, like when Lee hugs him 'just because' and peppers kisses all over his face as if he just can't get enough of Gaara, but other times it's stressful. Lee, ever the helpful person, almost never turns down a favor that's asked of him, and because of that, Gaara's walked in on some chaotic situations. One of the more troubling times had been when Lee agreed to dogsit for Kakashi and Gai - Had Gaara not had the sand, he would've been toppled over by the pack of hounds that were somehow brave enough to try and have at him. Lee, however, was not so lucky. He didn't seem to mind, though, babbling excitedly to Gaara as if he wasn't covered in fur and slobber.

 

      Lee has a way of pushing Gaara out of his comfort zone without even meaning to, something Temari and Kankuro find hilarious. All Lee had to do was say something like, "I really feel like a race today," and Gaara would immediately suggest they do just that. 

 

      Which was how he found himself sitting at the edge of a creek, his feet submerged in cool water as he watches Lee swim laps. At first, Lee had offered to stay near Gaara in order to keep him company, but Gaara insisted that wasn't necessary. Just knowing they were near each other was enough for him and he told Lee as much before he believed him. 

 

      It's been two years since they first got together and Gaara is still waiting for the tip of the iceberg. He's a little surprised it hasn't happened yet - the first year of their relationship had been the hardest. Long distance was tough enough for couples that had already been together for ages, it was hell for Gaara and Lee in the beginning. 

 

      Despite how difficult that year had been, they'd survived it, and somehow, came out even stronger. 

 

      Lee swims back over to where Gaara is sitting, pulling himself up and out of the water so he can lean against him. 

 

      "Are you sure you don't want to swim?" Lee asks, looking up at him curiously from where his head is resting on Gaara's shoulder.

 

      In Gaara's firm opinion, Lee was the most attractive man he'd ever laid eyes on, devastatingly handsome even when he was hunched over the toilet due to a bout of sickness. Right here, right now though, his looks were breathtaking - The summer really favored him, it seemed, the bright sunshine on his skin warm and radiant, the freckles scattered across his face and shoulders more pronounced against his brown skin. Lee was _glowing_.

 

      "You're beautiful," Gaara says instead of answering the question, his tone matter-of-fact, as if he were simply commenting on how the grass was green. 

 

      Lee flushes, hiding his face against Gaara's shoulder. He lets out a muffled, squeaky, "thank you," and Gaara can feel him grinning like a lovesick fool against his skin.

 

     "Don't be embarrassed," Gaara chides gently, snaking an arm around Lee's waist to tug him a bit closer, "It's true."

 

      Lee pulls back, mouth open and ready to argue, but it snaps shut at the look on Gaara's face. They've had this conversation before - Lee, for some reason Gaara couldn't understand, was insecure about his looks to the point that he was confused anyone could find him even mildly attractive. 

 

      "I look weird," Lee would insist.

 

      "No," Gaara would argue, "You're sexy."

 

      And each time, without fail, Lee's face would go beet red. "You're only saying that to be nice!" he'd yell, adorable little turtle mouth screwed up into a frown, before stomping off to who knows where, leaving a confused Gaara to wonder when he'd ever done such a thing in his life.

 

      This time though, Lee lets it slide, cupping Gaara's face in his hands and leaning in to kiss him languidly. Fingers tangled in Lee's wet hair, Gaara forgets about all of the stress in his day to day life, forgets about the inevitable end of his and Lee's relationship. He wonders if it's like this for everyone when they kiss the love of their life, if they all see stars when they're wrapped around the person they hold closest to their heart. There's no need to wonder if Lee feels the same way he does - If there's one thing Lee is utterly confident about, it's their relationship and he makes sure to tell Gaara just how he feels about him in vivid detail every single chance he gets.

 

      They break apart, Lee smiling giddily when Gaara's lips chase after his, and presses a chaste kiss to his mouth before slumping down to lean against him again. They're quiet for a bit, before Lee, in typical Rock-Lee-fashion, says something that almost makes Gaara's eyes bug out.  

 

      "How many kids do you want?"

 

     Gaara is stunned into silence for a very, very long time. "What do you mean?" he finally says, puzzled.

 

     "When we have children, how many would you like to have?" 

 

     Gaara blinks, heart hammering in his chest. "......You want to have children."

 

     Lee nods vigorously, "Of course!"

 

    "........with me?"

 

    Lee's brows bunch together, ".....yes? Who else?"

 

    Gaara swallows, processing this new information. In hindsight, maybe he should've seen this coming. One of Lee's favorite tasks to take on recently was babysitting Ino and Sakura's little rascals - Sarada and Inojin. He wrote about them in his letters often and framed the stick figure drawings they'd made for him. It was obvious he adored them but that wasn't much of a shock. Lee was a kid person through and through. Even little Shikadai, who normally kicked and screamed when anyone outside of his parents held him, liked Lee. Of course he would want kids of his own at some point. 

 

    It wasn't that Gaara didn't want kids. He'd never actually given the idea much thought. It was the knowledge that Lee wanted to build a family with him that astounded him. A wave of self doubt washes over him, the ghost of his parents seeming to murmur in his ear, his father vicious, _'you're more like me than you care to admit - you'll fuck up just as bad as i did. maybe even worse'_ and his mother whispering, gentle and pleading, _'please don't make my mistakes - please, please be careful who you put down roots with'_

 

      He sucks in a deep breath, closes his eyes, and counts backwards from ten.

 

      _'I am nothing like my father,'_ he tells himself, _'Neither is Lee. There is nothing to worry about.'_

 

      Parents effectively shushed, he opens his eyes, "We can have as many as you want."

 

     "Really?" Lee says, equal parts excited and surprised. 

 

     "Yes."

 

     "What if I want ten?"

 

     "That's fine."

 

     "Twenty?"

 

      "Okay."

 

      Lee snickers, nudging Gaara with his elbow, "Twenty is far too many!" After giggling so hard he starts to hiccup, Lee looks at Gaara, eyes squinted in mirth. "Maybe we'll just start with one."

 

      "Alright," Gaara easily agrees, "Only after we get married - _If_ we get married," he hastily adds, not wanting to get his hopes up too high for a future with Lee.

 

      " _When_ we get married," Lee corrects, beaming.

      

      " _If_ ," Gaara counters, "You could still change your mind about me."

 

      And Lee just grins that goofy grin at him, a determined glint in his eye. "I won't."


End file.
